The Pond

The pond sat in the back corner of the pasture, bordered by thick clumps of pine and leather leaf and thick tufts of rat grass and sticker bushes ready to snag the unwary. Anna Sanford knelt at the pond's edge, booted feet sinking in the muddy grass as she studied the murky water.

A mucus like membrane coated the pond; a slick and oily looking skin that covered the surface. It was black as tar, streaked through with sickly looking swirls of yellow and red. A subtle chemical smell wafted from it.

Not far from where Anna knelt, a tall rawboned man watched her, his craggy features wrinkled as he squinted against the sun. He wore traditional farmer garb; boots, jeans, a chambray work shirt, and a sweat stained ball cap tugged low to cut the glare some. When he saw that she'd finished, he said, “What’d you say it was again?”

“I didn't say.” Anna stood and knuckled the small of her back. Her sunglasses cut the worst of the glare but the sun was still an annoyance overhead. She blew a strand of graying hair off her face as she lifted up the vial she'd just filled from the pond, letting the sunlight highlight the foul looking liquid and the bits of organic material floating within.

If the farmer was annoyed at her brusque tone, he didn't show it. Tanner Stoker was on the downhill slope of fifty and his mama had raised him to respect authority. And, by god, the lady standing by his cow pond was definitely that.

Anna Sanford was what many would call a legend in her own time. Published in dozens of medical journals, she was one of the most respected climate scientists on the planet, as well as an award winning microbiologist.

She'd traveled all over, studying the effects of climate change on different biomes, and was widely regarded as the foremost expert on the evolutionary responses of organisms affected by extreme weather changes.

Tanner wasn't what anyone would call an expert, but he'd been farming and working this stretch of land for most of his life and he knew damn well that whatever was going on with his pond wasn't right.

“And you're absolutely sure nobody got out here?” Anna swiped at her forehead with a sleeve and squinted despite her sunglasses. “There's no chance somebody decided to use your pond for dumping? Do you have any enemies you might have triggered lately?”

Tanner shook his head. “None that come to mind. The pond’s the herd’s main watering hole, so I try my best to keep it in one piece.” He grimaced and spat. The saliva hit the scum coating the water without disturbing the putridness. He said, “You really think some son of a bitch dumped that shit here to get back at me for something?”

Before Anna could reply, there was a gaseous belch and a bulge began to form in the center of the pond. As the two watched, it expanded and grew, the glistening black surface rippling with movement as something unseen pressed against it from the inside.

“What the shit is that?” Tanner sounded dumbfounded as he took a shuffling step back from the water’s edge.

Before Anna could answer and before Tanner could take another backward step, a thick rope of gelatinous goo exploded out of the bulging mass and lashed itself around his neck. The cord snapped tight, jerking the farmer off his feet, and sent him crashing face forward into the pond.

Anna lunged, grabbing hold of one of his kicking legs, and hauled with all of her strength. All she accomplished was getting a nasty bruise from Tanner’s frenzied struggling as he was dragged into the gooey surface of the pond. Letting go, she fell onto her elbows and watched the big man go under. The black water swallowed him with barely a ripple.

Before Anna could put herself back together, another tentacle snaked around her ankle. She spun and clawed at the soggy mud and grass, but it tore her loose with ease and she followed Tanner into the pond.

Anna awoke in darkness. A voice spoke from nothingness. The words sounded like no language Anna had ever encountered, a harsh guttural bark that made her ears ache.

A different voice replied in the same inhuman growl, though it now spoke passable English. It said, “The court concurs. The human female will be allowed to speak on behalf of her species. As with those before, her arguments will be taken into account before the sentence is passed.”

Anna’s eyes fluttered open and she gasped as her surroundings came into focus. The pasture and pond were gone, replaced by a broad and open chamber made of a dark polished material. It looked like marble, smooth and black with swirls of red and yellow, but a soft glow moved through the walls and floor. It came to a stop under her and intensified until she was surrounded by a warm golden light.

She stood stiffly but wasn't bound or held by anything visible. She couldn't move anything below her neck.

“What is this place?” She asked, twisting her head to seek out the source of the voices, but she appeared to be alone. She fought to move the rest of her body, but it was no good. The light surrounding her was somehow holding her in place. Some sort of energy field, she thought with an inner shiver.

The technology being used was beyond anything she’d had first hand contact with. She knew there were countless advances everyday in energy and particle manipulation, so her mind didn't instantly jump to aliens. But the thought was there, tickling her fight, flight, or freeze response.

“The ‘energy field’ is for your protection, Anna Sanford, as much as it is also for our own.” A figure formed from the malleable material of the chamber wall. It was distinctly humanoid, but far taller than any person she'd ever met. At least nine feet tall and leanly muscled, the speaker stepped away from the wall and moved closer.

Anna openly studied the creature, her curiosity outweighing her fear. The being wasn't human, that was clear. Humanoid, yes, but from a different phylum completely. It was dressed in a form fitting material that appeared synthetic, dark in color, and segmented like armor. Only their face was bare, revealing male features that were fiercely defined, with chiseled cheekbones and a strong chin. Their eyes were a vibrant blue green, flecked and speckled like those of certain amphibious creatures. Frogs or geckos for instance. Sitting inside a human looking face, the effect was striking. Their scalp was covered by short spiky dark red hair.

Her silent study of her captor was interrupted by Anna’s sudden realization of the import of their words. “You have telepathic abilities. If that's true, then you must know I mean you no harm. Fighting you is the last thing on my mind.”

“Of course.” A second figure appeared, this one even taller than the first, and somehow more feminine despite a short curly beard that was the same dark red as the first’s hair. This one was dressed the same, but for a cloak that dragged the floor of the chamber as they crossed to stand beside the other. The eyes were similar, though this one’s were amber instead of blue. They continued, using a hand with fingers as long as Anna’s forearm to gesture at the light surrounding the human female, saying, “You're a scientist, first and foremost. You wish to study us. To understand who and what we are.” They smiled, revealing teeth that were tiny and sharp. “Perhaps you’d like to dissect one of us? To see what makes us tick.”

Anna was aghast. She shook her head, saying, “I would never think to do such a thing to another sapient species. My only goal is to understand the building blocks of life. At times, my studies required me to examine the processes by which living organisms function and decay, but only ever in the lab or classroom. And only ever lower organisms.”

The first figure shook their head, their expression sad. They said, “That is the crux of our dilemma, Anna Sanford. Whatever gave humanity the idea that they had the right to dictate which creatures were lower than themselves? Who placed humanity in charge of this glorious planet that they have, so far, only despoiled and trampled with their unending need to conquer and rule?”

Anna was momentarily speechless. She'd long ago given up on religion, having dedicated her life to science, but there was still a tiny part of her that would always fall back on those old Sunday school teachings of her youth. Who had given humanity their stewardship of the earth?

God?

Both of her captors chuckled softly at the innocence of her thoughts. The taller of the two stroked their bearded chin with impossibly long fingers and said, “It always comes back to that, doesn't it? God. The man, or woman, upstairs. And what if I told you there was a god, Anna Sanford? And that this deity had long since relinquished control of this world to its inhabitants, to use as they see fit, and to safeguard for the generations yet to come? Does that make what your species has done to it any better? Does that assuage your conscience?”

Anna had no response. No easy ones, at least. She said, “We’re learning. Slowly, I know, but we are learning. It wasn't long ago that people couldn't even agree that climate change existed. But those arguments have mostly disappeared.”

“Yet, your people do nothing to curb their reckless destruction of the natural world.” This from the beardless one, who now stood on the far side of the chamber, hands clasped behind their back as they spoke. “So many wasted years, bickering and arguing, one side clinging while the other grasped at the illusion of control, while the world has crumbled and died around you. How many species are dead and gone, annihilated by your people? How many of your own kind, dead because of oil, or diamonds, or even something as plentiful as water? Your kind are murderous parasites.”

Anna wanted to deny it. To defend the human race. But the words wouldn't come. Humans screwed up every part of the planet they touched. They were indefensible. But something else occurred to her and she found herself asking, “Where’s Tanner?”

They exchanged a look and the first shook their head in exasperation. “Do you see, even now the human thinks not of the countless lives that will be lost. Instead, she focuses on one. They are all like this one. Tiny insignificant animals, giving no thought to anything beyond their primitive instincts.”

The other said nothing. Stepping to the side, they raised a hand and gestured at the air. There was a shimmer as an energy field identical to the one holding her snapped into existence. Tanner floated within it; hanging a foot above the floor, his arms pressed tight against his sides. His eyes were closed and he didn't seem to be breathing.

“Is he alive?” Anna watched closely, but she could detect no breath or movement coming from the suspended figure.

The bearded one dipped their head, golden eyes curious. The beard did little to alter their feminine features as they said, “He lives. For now. His existence, much like your own, depends on your answers to our questions. It's disturbing to us that human beings place so much importance on the life of a single member of the species, while allowing the whole of the planet to slide toward complete destruction.”

They gestured at the far wall. The dim surface lit up within until images of war and destruction came into focus. Image after image of deaths from violence, from starvation, and from man made disasters.

They watched Anna’s expression, studying her eyes as she took in the images flashing across the wall. The human showed very little reaction.

They said, “There seems to be no horror that humans won't do to one another. No attrocity they won't commit.”

Visions of religious persecution, of women and girls being brutalized because of their sex, flashed in front of her, but still Anna said nothing.

What was she supposed to say? There was no defense against something as insidious as the truth about humanity's murderous nature. She felt hopeless as she stared at the man floating in front of her, his rugged features slack in unconsciousness.

“You're right.” Anna was surprised to hear herself speaking. “Humanity isn't worth saving.”

Her abductors glanced at one another, their inhuman eyes meeting. The bearded one waved a long fingered hand, silencing the cascading images, then said, “That's a bold statement, Anna. Especially considering the position you find yourself in.”

The other was less reserved with their opinion, arching a narrow red eyebrow as it regarded Anna. “Bold isn't the word I would use.” They showed their tiny teeth in an unpleasant grin. “Suicidedly stupid, is more like. You understand that we're here for a specific purpose, human, yes? That you were sought out because of your expertise in regards to this biologically diverse planet and your knowledge of the species that reside here. Perhaps you want to explain your position.”

“What can I say?” Anna sighed and chose her words carefully. “Even if the majority of us decided to act immediately to try and reverse the damage done to the world, it's too late. The planet’s atmospheric integrity is compromised. The lack of adequate cloud cover over the world's oceans has led to an over saturation of sunlight. This increases the warming of the oceans and the release of previously trapped methane gas deposits.” She paused, not needing to see the confirmation in her captor's eyes to know she was correct, even if she was being a bit hyperbolic and broad with her science.

The bearded giant nodded gravely and said, “And if it wasn't too late? What if humanity had access to allies with technology that could turn the tide? Would they cede control of the planet to save it?” They gestured at the unmoving man hanging in the neighboring energy field and asked, “What of your friend here? Would he be willing to step aside and give up control of his farm, if it meant saving it from certain destruction?”

“I don't know.” Anna said. But she did know.

The bearded one’s sad eyed gaze said that they knew, as well. They said, “The time will quickly arrive when the choice will be taken away from you. This world doesn't belong to mankind alone. And if saving it means leaving humans in the dustbin of history, so be it.”

Anna could only nod. She looked at Tanner and said, “Will he remember any of this?”

“Would it do any good if he did?” The blue eyed one asked with a sneer. Looking at their companion, they shook their head and said, “It’s as I said. Humans will never change. Not of their own free will. Ours is a fool’s errand.”

But the other didn't respond. They studied Anna’s gaze for a long time, then said, “I think the good still outnumber the bad, my friend.”

With a gesture, the energy field surrounding Anna and Tanner began to intensify, the white light becoming warm as it engulfed the floating figures.

With a blinding flash, the world winked back into existence and Anna found herself lying on her back in the high grass of Tanner Stoker’s back forty.

For an instant, Anna felt a sense of unreality, as if something bigger than everything she'd ever known before was just out of sight, somewhere outside the corner of her eye.

Then the queasiness hit and she felt her gorge spasm, making her hurriedly roll over and vomit up the breakfast burrito she'd eaten on her way to Tanner’s farm.

Coughing and wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand, she sat back on her heels and took a deep breath. The sky was a deep red, the sun sitting low on the horizon, and a stiff wind had come up, making her break out in goose flesh.

Tanner sat nearby, his hat held in one hand as he blinked and stared at the sudden twilight. He was pale as he said, “What the hell happened? Did we pass out?”

Anna grunted as she got to her feet, her gaze immediately drawn to the pond nearby. The surface was dark but otherwise clear. No scummy coat of slime. Just the occasional flick of a dancing dragonfly and the buzzing of horseflies.

“What happened?” Tanner sounded startled, scared even. He climbed to his feet, swaying slightly as he brushed grass and prickly burrs from his clothes. “My head is pounding.”

Anna didn't say anything. She felt like something momentous had been stolen from her, but didn't know what. She checked her watch and was shocked to see that she'd lost at least four hours. “We’ll go to the hospital and make sure we weren't exposed to anything toxic. It might've been an algae bloom. Or some kind of anaphylactic reaction to something in the air.”

Tanner grunted and started walking toward his truck, gesturing for her to follow. He said, “Let’s go. I feel like I'm gonna puke again and I want to be away from here when I do. Something about this place is giving me the creeps.”

Anna followed, turning once to stare at the pond as they left it behind, and a thought seemed to pop into her head on its own.

The good still outnumber the bad, my friend.

She shivered, not sure why that thought should make her afraid, while at the same time giving her a feeling of hope.

The good still outnumber the bad.